


don't you dare slow down for me

by amorias



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet, Domestic, F/M, Fluff, Spitfire - Freeform, it's kinda all in there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-20
Updated: 2014-04-20
Packaged: 2018-01-20 01:39:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1491997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amorias/pseuds/amorias
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was sunshine, and she was rain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. i'm in love with a girl i hate

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for the end of the series.
> 
> A collection of drabbles about Kid Flash and Artemis through the entire series, switching POVs.

He was sunshine, and she was rain.

Bright hair and brighter eyes, always going at a breakneck pace for everything. He was all radiating smiles, and jokes concealing subtle insecurities, manifesting somehow when Artemis showed up – Red Arrow's replacement, Wally growled.

She was masked, and untrusting, spitting disapprovals his way every chance she got.

He was the sunshine hiding behind her rain.

 

She thinks it might be his hair. It could be his hair, or his freckles that he may grow out of one day, or his slimy attitude that really pisses Artemis off.

Maybe it's all three. Regardless, she cannot deny that Wally West annoys her to no end.

 

Wally refuses to acknowledge his reaction to Artemis' simulated death.

He shoves those feelings back down his throat and pretends none of it ever happened.

 

“Here,” Artemis says, holding out a playing card to Wally and shifting her weight from side to side.

He looks at the card, then her face, surprise reading across his eyes and his mouth.

“What for?” He asks, taking it and examining the Joker symbol on the back.

She shrugs carelessly.

“Souvenir.”

 

“Why don't you just trust me?”

It was an impulsive, angry outburst in between missions, blurting from Wally's mouth out into the open, too loud to pretend it hadn't been said. He swallows, slowing uncurling his fisted hands, eyes narrowed off to the side. Artemis's fingers tighten around her bow, and her throat closes around any words she could say.

She had run off for god knows what reason during the mission with Red Arrow, forcing it to be a failure just because she wanted to prove herself, or whatever. Worse, she made Wally look like an idiot for backing her up, and she won't even tell him, or anyone, why she did it.

He flips off his mask, tossing his goggles uselessly to the table and rubbing his eyes, which are stinging from dirt, or something else he won't let himself admit. She watches him as he walks towards the door, the slowest walk she's ever seen from him, and she wants to tell him not to leave, or tell him the secrets she has, but her lips stay shut in betrayal. He pauses, hand resting on the doorframe.

“Why don't you trust any of us, Artemis?”

He looks angry, but his words come out hollow.

 

Wally wants to hit himself for not letting himself realize it earlier, how much he loves her. Enough to not use cheesy, unnecessary pick up lines on her, enough to be concerned over if she actually likes him or not, enough to get mad that she didn't tell him her secrets sooner.

He should've done it sooner, but kissing her was one of the best ideas he's ever had.


	2. maybe i'm a crook for stealing your heart away

 “That mission was killer,” Wally says, leaning his head against the counter. They've barely walked in the door, and Artemis has already found the couch. “Want something to eat, Artemis?” He's started looking through cabinets, starving after running on fumes for half a mission. He looks over to the living room after a moment of no response, where she's curled up, bow hanging loosely from her fingers, mask still on.

He can't help but laugh.

“Couldn't even make it to bed, huh...” He kneels next to her, watching her breathe and smiling stupidly for just long enough to get embarrassed. He shakes his head and pats his hands against his cheeks, trying to diffuse some of the heat rising from his chest that's manifesting in his face.

“Didn't even take your mask off,” he breathes in mocking irritation, words shrouded by a smile, as he places her bow on the table and brings her up into his arms, carrying her to the bedroom, where he gently lays her down. He sits on the bed next to her, carefully sliding off her mask, listening to her breathe, and wishing things could stay like this exact moment forever.

 

It was sometime after Beast Boy came onto the team. Him, and Blue Beetle, and then Robin became Nightwing and some new 13-year-old Bat-kid came into the picture. Wally and Artemis could've easily gone to the League, or stayed on as mentors like Miss Martian and Superboy did. But for some reason, they didn't feel that that would be the best for them.

“We... think we're going to retire from the superhero business.”

Nightwing didn't take it well.

 

“Please, Artemis. Don't.”

She's never seen such a seriousness in his bright eyes. She tries to picture the freckled 15 year old he was when they first met, but she comes up short – she knows he's outgrown more than his freckles since back then.

“We are trying to live like normal people, remember?”

Artemis can't help but notice the tremble in Wally's voice, and she takes his shaking hands into her own.

“If you really don't want me to go, I won't.”

His jaw visibly clenches, eye shifting to the ground as his disagreements slide back down his throat and wedge themselves in between his ribs. He lets her go, even though he can feel his heart sinking into his stomach.

 

It was the greatest feeling, to have her back in his arms.

“I missed you so much,” he mumbles into her hair, and she feels his warmth, spreading across her like the sun. His whole body is trembling in relief that he didn't know would happen – she's back, she's safe, she's with him again. He didn't realize how terrified, how on-edge he was the entire time she was gone.

He makes her promise she won't leave him like this again, because he thinks that maybe when they're apart, they're not quite whole.

 

“Wally would want it to be this way,” Artemis tells Impulse.

It feels too cold, and his name stings at her throat and her eyes like ice. He had been her sunshine, and now all she was left with was rain.

**Author's Note:**

> just finished watching the series (watched it all in 4 days.... yikes...) and immediately had to write about my favorite ship because it just destroyed me. first time writing this ship though so it may not be perfect and i'm sorry!! title from "don't slow down" by copeland. thanks for reading!!


End file.
